Published: Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 4:24 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 4:24 p.m.

LAKEWOOD RANCH - At Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine in Lakewood Ranch, students are learning while doing.

Facts

INTERESTED?

What: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine.Where: 4800 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Bradenton.When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round; closed on holidays and school breaks.Who: Dental students, under faculty supervision, provide primary care services to patients. Patients are selected to become teaching cases based on the school’s academic needs.Services: Preventive and primary care procedures, including cleanings, periodontal treatments, crowns, root canals, extractions and dentures.Cost: Fees vary, but are about 60 percent of the cost of private dentists.Information: Call 405-1600 or visit www.lecom.edu.

As part of the curriculum, a class of 100 second-year dental students treats patients at greatly reduced costs.

Some of the patients had waited a year and drove several hundred miles to seek treatment at a Lakewood Ranch dental practice.

Others were local residents who put off preventive treatment until small problems got out of control. They included elderly people with complex medical histories and children whose families rely on Medicaid for their health care.

When all of the patient spots are filled, the school will be able to see 200 patients a day.

Student Neha Chakravarti, who majored in economics with a minor in biology at Rutgers University, said LECOM's approach allows her to build relationships with patients.

The problem-based learning curriculum focuses on an interactive approach rather than students sitting in a lecture hall.

“In the real world, you won't have people spoon-feeding you information,” she said.

After meeting their first patients, students are collecting medical histories and working on treatment plans for faculty members to review. The first procedures could start in May.

Patients will stay with the same student throughout their treatment.

“We get to know them and build that trust,” Chakravarti, 25, of Princeton, N.J., said.

The clinic needs more patients to match with students. Because the fees are about 60 percent of what is charged at traditional dental practices, people with low or fixed incomes and those receiving medical care through state-funded programs are seeking exam slots.

Future patients are warned that what takes an hour by a dentist might take three hours at the school. The patient load will increase as students gain experience and skills.

“We are here to help local dentists take care of people,” Robert Hirsch, D.D.S., dean of the school, said.

As one of 60 dental schools in the country, Hirsch said the Lakewood Ranch clinic represents a wish list he developed over time when he was in dental school, as a practicing dentist in Erie, Pa., and as a professor.

LECOM opened the Lakewood Ranch campus in 2004 with a medical school, which has 636 students. The pharmacy school, which opened in 2007, has 420 students. There also are 200 students in the dental school, which opened in 2012.

Dental students are a member of one of 10 group practices. Each practice has 10 “operatory,” or examination rooms, that remain assigned to the same students throughout the year.

Students see two patients a day. X-rays are done digitally. Patient records are electronic.

Overseeing the students are a staff of dentists, hygienists, specialists and patient care coordinators. The ratio is about one faculty member for every six students.

By the end of their third year, LECOM students will have received training equivalent to four years at more traditional schools, Hirsch said.

For their fourth year, students will transfer to two outreach clinics LECOM is establishing in Defuniak Springs and Erie. There, they will work five days a week, seeing up to six patients a day.

For the past year, Hirsch said, LECOM has partnered with the Bill Galvano One-Stop Center in Bradenton to provide free, custom-fitted dentures to homeless people. There was no trepidation about providing a service that helps change their lives.

“We couldn't have gotten better patients,” he said.

Chakravarti said the patients seeking help from LECOM students are excited to book their next appointment.

<p><em>LAKEWOOD RANCH</em> - At Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine in Lakewood Ranch, students are learning while doing.</p><p>As part of the curriculum, a class of 100 second-year dental students treats patients at greatly reduced costs.</p><p>Some of the patients had waited a year and drove several hundred miles to seek treatment at a Lakewood Ranch dental practice.</p><p>Others were local residents who put off preventive treatment until small problems got out of control. They included elderly people with complex medical histories and children whose families rely on Medicaid for their health care.</p><p>When all of the patient spots are filled, the school will be able to see 200 patients a day.</p><p>Student Neha Chakravarti, who majored in economics with a minor in biology at Rutgers University, said LECOM's approach allows her to build relationships with patients.</p><p>The problem-based learning curriculum focuses on an interactive approach rather than students sitting in a lecture hall.</p><p>“In the real world, you won't have people spoon-feeding you information,” she said.</p><p>After meeting their first patients, students are collecting medical histories and working on treatment plans for faculty members to review. The first procedures could start in May.</p><p>Patients will stay with the same student throughout their treatment.</p><p>“We get to know them and build that trust,” Chakravarti, 25, of Princeton, N.J., said.</p><p>The clinic needs more patients to match with students. Because the fees are about 60 percent of what is charged at traditional dental practices, people with low or fixed incomes and those receiving medical care through state-funded programs are seeking exam slots.</p><p>Future patients are warned that what takes an hour by a dentist might take three hours at the school. The patient load will increase as students gain experience and skills.</p><p>“We are here to help local dentists take care of people,” Robert Hirsch, D.D.S., dean of the school, said.</p><p>As one of 60 dental schools in the country, Hirsch said the Lakewood Ranch clinic represents a wish list he developed over time when he was in dental school, as a practicing dentist in Erie, Pa., and as a professor.</p><p>LECOM opened the Lakewood Ranch campus in 2004 with a medical school, which has 636 students. The pharmacy school, which opened in 2007, has 420 students. There also are 200 students in the dental school, which opened in 2012.</p><p>Dental students are a member of one of 10 group practices. Each practice has 10 “operatory,” or examination rooms, that remain assigned to the same students throughout the year.</p><p>Students see two patients a day. X-rays are done digitally. Patient records are electronic.</p><p>Overseeing the students are a staff of dentists, hygienists, specialists and patient care coordinators. The ratio is about one faculty member for every six students.</p><p>By the end of their third year, LECOM students will have received training equivalent to four years at more traditional schools, Hirsch said.</p><p>For their fourth year, students will transfer to two outreach clinics LECOM is establishing in Defuniak Springs and Erie. There, they will work five days a week, seeing up to six patients a day.</p><p>For the past year, Hirsch said, LECOM has partnered with the Bill Galvano One-Stop Center in Bradenton to provide free, custom-fitted dentures to homeless people. There was no trepidation about providing a service that helps change their lives.</p><p>“We couldn't have gotten better patients,” he said.</p><p>Chakravarti said the patients seeking help from LECOM students are excited to book their next appointment.</p><p>“The patients truly want to have the work done,” she said.</p>